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A spreadsheet and graphing activity
Google Sheets- Making Graphs and observing trends Overview Google Sheets is a Web 2.0 app that is part of the Google suite of office programs. The app allows users to collaboratively create and edit spreadsheets, manipulate data, form charts and more. It has similar basic functionality to Microsoft Excel, but is more limited. The benefit however is that tasks can be worked on collaboratively and are free to use by everyone with a Google account. Using this in a classroom This program is ideally suited for allowing students to practice data manipulation and graph interpretation. The teacher should begin by giving students a spreadsheet of data. A good data set to use is the collection of global average temperatures at sea level over the past century as it is contextually relevant to current discussion of global warming and allows students to observe actual evidence on what is sometimes considered a "contentious" issue in the public eye. The data should be shared with the students so that they can each have an individual copy to work with. The teacher should then instruct the students to create a graph and discuss their observations based on trend lines and any observable patterns. If it is a lower ability class, however, or they are reasonably inexperienced with data manipulation, the teacher can guide them through the task on the class projector while they follow along. Either approach provides students with invaluable skills graphing and spreadsheet mapping or data interpretation and analysis. Who is this for? This form of activity can be used in any science course, but using Global Warming data is more applicable to stage 5 students. Stage 4 students will likely require the more guided approach outlined above compared to older students. Outcomes SC5-7WS processes, analyses and evaluates data from first-hand investigations and secondary sources to develop evidence-based arguments and conclusions SC5-9WS presents science ideas and evidence for a particular purpose and to a specific audience, using appropriate scientific language, conventions and representations SC5-13ES explains how scientific knowledge about global patterns of geological activity and interactions involving global systems can be used to inform decisions related to contemporary issues Content WS7.1 Students process data and information by: a. selecting and using a variety of methods to organise data and information including diagrams, tables, models, spreadsheets and databases b. selecting and extracting information from tables, flow diagrams, other texts, audiovisual resources and graphs, including histograms and column, sector or line graphs c. accessing data and information by using a range of appropriate digital technologies d. applying numerical procedures and mathematical concepts and using digital technologies, where appropriate e. identifying data which supports or discounts a question or hypothesis being investigated or a proposed solution to a problem WS7.2 Students analyse data and information by: a. analysing patterns and trends, including identifying inconsistencies in data and information WS9 Students communicate by: b. selecting and constructing an appropriate table, type of diagram, table or graph (histogram or sector, column or line graph) to present information and show relationships clearly and succinctly using digital technologies as appropriate c. using appropriate units for physical quantities and symbols to express relationships, including mathematical ones ES3 c. evaluate scientific evidence of some current issues affecting society that are the result of human activity on global systems, eg the greenhouse effect, ozone layer depletion, effect of climate change on sea levels, long-term effects of waste management and loss of biodiversity Where can I get this? Google Sheets is available at: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/ Sea level temperature data can be found at: http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/tabledata_v3/GLB.Ts+dSST.txt Note: If manipulating the data, try to open it directly in Excel from the URL. This will allow you to remove irrelevant columns as quickly as possible but still requires some work. It is slightly more difficult to do this in Sheets, but Sheets offers a more collaborative and accessible experience once the data has been simplified bu the teacher. With more information given here: http://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/ __FORCETOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__ __NOINDEX__